Fire damages Hillcrest preschool

San Diego  For the second time this year, a Hillcrest church preschool was damaged in a pre-dawn fire.

The blaze on Tuesday at the First Unitarian Universalist Church of San Diego on Front Street was reported at 12:21 a.m., San Diego Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief John Fisher said.

When firefighters arrived, they found a large column of smoke and flames coming from the back window of a classroom, Fisher said.

The flames were contained to the room and were knocked down in about 20 minutes. Damage was estimated at $300,000 to the structure and $150,000 to its contents, he said.

No injuries were reported. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

On Jan. 6, the school suffered about $100,000 in damage in a fire that started around 3 a.m. and burned a plastic shed, some wooden playground equipment and a storage room next to a classroom, Fisher said.

Investigators said they believed that fire was started by someone in the area, but it was not deliberately set.